


A Matter of Perspective

by aces_low



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Bar Fight, Explicit Language, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:05:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9330674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aces_low/pseuds/aces_low
Summary: There are always two sides to every story. It's all a matter of perspective.





	

**Author's Note:**

> These are not meant to be representations of the real men, this is just an interpretation of the characters from the HBO series

If someone were to ask George when his complicated relationship with Joe Toye started its implosion, he’d say he had no idea. He’d say that whatever crawled up Joe’s ass and died there was the reason for the end of it all, because for the life of him he couldn’t understand why the motherfucker would stop answering his phone. Why he’d say “I think we should just be friends again, George,” and then make no effort to actually act like a friend again. 

What he wouldn’t do is admit that it hurts more than he knew it should. He wouldn’t admit that he felt like he’d been rejected and used and thrown away like yesterday’s trash. What he would say is that Joe Toye is just a moody son of a bitch and he can go hook up with all his other fuck buddies for all George cares, which he doesn’t. _He does, he cares a lot_.

 

This is conjecture, but George thinks he has a pretty good idea of what Joe is doing when his phone rings and then goes straight to voicemail. He can see, in his mind, Joe hitting the ignore button on his phone before reaching for his faceless lover. His hands grabbing at the back of their neck, pulling them into him, his grip hot and sure against their skin. His kiss is rough and passionate and leaves his partner breathless and soft in his hold. 

His faceless lover won’t be demanding or needy the way George knows he can often be under Joe’s touch. They move together in sync, slow but intense, picking up pace together as they go, yet still somehow remaining graceful in their movements. Not like with Luz, who is always grabbing and reaching and pulling or pushing too hard and too much. Joe just wants to focus on the lovers he has who are good at this sort of thing, or at least know how to follow his lead.

_Remember, this is all conjecture._

 

George Luz doesn’t need Joe Toye, he’s got plenty of other friends-with-benefits of his own. Sure, Joe had been different, but that difference turned out to be more trouble than a friends-with-benefits deal is supposed to be. So, George doesn’t care that it’s over.

George doesn’t care so much so that he decides he’s going to go get himself a drink or five.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The reality is – _and this is something George hasn’t even considered_ – Joe Toye isn’t avoiding him because he is just a moody guy. He didn’t stop answering calls from Luz because he doesn’t want to be friends anymore, he hasn’t lost interest in Luz as a lover. The fact is, Joe Toye is avoiding George Luz because he is mildly heartbroken, and he’s not exactly emotionally equipped to handle that.

Here’s what happened – _at least in Joe’s mind_ :

 

Luz’s skin had still been pink and warm, and he’d been talking and joking away, his voice light and stuttered as he was still catching his breath. As Joe languidly ran his fingers down Luz’s back, Luz made a joke about how none of his other friends were quite as tactile after sex as Joe was.

Joe had felt something sharp and warm begin to radiate from beneath his chest.

“So, you do this kind of uh…this sort of thing with other people?” he’d asked, trying to sound casual.

Luz had just shrugged and nonchalantly said “sure, a few.”

It hadn’t taken long for the burning in Joe’s chest to intensify, and he had left soon after. 

 

Now, whether Luz had been as cavalier and indifferent toward the idea that he sleeps with other guys, only the walls in Luz’s bedroom can say. 

What matters now is the way Joe saw it, and the way Joe replays it in his head over and over. Using it to remind himself that he means almost nothing to Luz, except that maybe he’s more convenient than the others. So, when Luz’s name pops up on his phone he hits ignore, and tries to do the same.

~~~~~~~~~

 

George is picking a fight with the worst person to get into a fight with. But he’s drunk and pissed off and a little bit sad, and Guarnere is Joe’s best friend, so he’s the closest he’s going to get to actually yelling at Joe himself.

It starts off okay, with Luz approaching Guarnere, poking at his chest and calling Joe Toye a “real son of a bitch.”

Guarnere just laughs and agrees, but as Luz continues to bad mouth his friend, the humor in Guarnere’s eyes fades.

“You better watch that big mouth of yours, Luz,” Guarnere threatens. 

Luz knows that Guarnere is not exactly known for managing his temper, so why he’s choosing to stoke the flames, he couldn’t say.

 

When he’s sober, he’ll know. He’ll understand the concept of destructive tendencies and be able to draw the straight line from Joe’s rejection to his actions. For tonight, he doesn’t care about anything more than hurting Joe Toye, and if he has to do that symbolically, then so be it.

 

The inevitable punch comes after a particularly unwarranted comment about Joe only knowing how to have a relationship with another person if he’s fucking them.

The pain is dulled by the alcohol but he still falls backward slamming into the back of another person on his way to the ground. It’s chaotic, and Luz can’t really figure out whose arms and hands belong to who. He feels himself being dragged up from the ground, into the swarm of people who have surrounded him and the room seems like it’s spinning, he can’t quite make out any of the faces that come into his field of vision.

He ducks and pushes his way out of the pack of bodies and stumbles his way toward the door without anyone stopping him. 

 

If anyone were to ask, he’d say he hadn’t planned to walk to Joe’s place. He’d say he was just drunk and confused and forgot where he was.

The thing is, Joe’s apartment is to the left of the bar, while Luz’s apartment is to the right and closer. As soon as he’d stepped outside he had known he was going left.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe is woken up by pounding on his door. He jumps out of bed and make his way out to the main room, turning on lights as he goes.

Looking through the peephole makes him pause. Luz is there, pounding away at the door, looking belligerent. That’s not a normal look to see on Luz’s face, but neither is the red mark around his eye and the cut on his cheekbone, so Joe unlocks the door.

Luz stumbles through the doorway, but catches himself before Joe can. 

“He’s alive!” Luz exclaims once he’s whirled around to meet Joe’s stare.

“What?”

“Oh well, I just figured something terrible must have happened to you, ya know ‘cause we’re supposed to be friends, and friends don’t just avoid each other, so I thought for sure that meant you were dead in a ditch somewhere.” Luz gestures wildly with his arms as he walks further into Joe’s apartment.

“What happened to your face?” Joe asks, ignoring Luz’s angry tirade.

“Got hit,” Luz shrugs and sits down on the couch with a huff. 

Joe sighs and grabs some ice from the freezer, dumping it into a dishtowel.

“You’re not really the fighting type,” Joe says, handing the ice to Luz.

“No, but Guarnere is.”

“You and Guarnere got into a fight with someone?”

Luz shakes his head and presses the towel against his cheek. “No, him and me.”

“What?” Joe’s voice comes out angrier than he’d like, but he can’t imagine a scenario that Guarnere would hurt Luz, no matter how drunk they were.

Luz just shrugs again and leans back further into the couch. 

“I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about why you’ve been avoiding me,” Luz says, but his eyes are closed and his head is resting on the back of the couch, and Joe thinks he can hold him off for another couple of minutes.

“I’m not going to talk about that tonight, not while you’re like this. Take your shoes off and I’ll get you a blanket and pillow,” Joe offers.

“Can’t I just sleep in your bed?”

Joe hesitates, “I don’t think…”

“Oh Jesus Christ, Joe, I’ve slept in your bed dozens of times, we’ve both literally had our dicks inside each other. And now that we’re “just friends” we can’t lay next to each other in a bed?”

Before Joe can respond Luz just lays himself out and turns to face the back of the couch. 

Instead of trying to assuage Luz’s anger he just takes the towel of ice back to the kitchen to dump it out in the sink. Luz is already asleep by the time he comes back and Joe covers him with a blanket and maneuvers his head up enough to stick a pillow underneath it.

Getting back into bed, he reaches for his cellphone, noticing a number of missed calls and texts from his friends asking if he’s seen Luz. He has one text from Guarnere just telling him that he’d punched Luz and that he’d deserved it. Joe writes back telling him they’ll talk tomorrow. Then he sends off a group text to his friends telling them that Luz is with him. He puts his phone on silent, knowing the onslaught he’s about to get.

Laying down he’s finally able to let out a deep, shuddering breath. It’s been almost a month since he’s seen Luz and having him here, so close, feels like an ache in his joints. 

He’s tried to stay away, tried to remind himself how to just be friends with Luz, how to spend time with Luz without wanting to tell him how he feels. He knows now that he’s close to ruining everything, close to losing Luz as having any part of his life, if tonight hadn’t just officially sealed the end of their friendship altogether. 

He thinks to himself that maybe it’s for the best. 

_He knows that’s not true._

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe has water and Advil waiting for Luz when he wakes up. He makes him breakfast while Luz answers the ridiculous amounts of texts from his friends asking on his whereabouts last night.

Luz complains about the ache on his cheek and eye and Joe gives him some more ice to help with the swelling.

When Joe tries to suggest that Luz should maybe get going, Luz refuses.

“I’m not leaving until you and I talk,” he says, sitting down on the couch.

Joe sighs but follows him into the living room. “I don’t think there’s anything to say.”

“So that’s it then? You stop wanting to fuck me so we can't even talk anymore?”

“No, of course not, that’s…that’s not it at all.”

“Really? Then give me a better reason.”

“I don’t-“ Joe starts, but Luz cuts him off.

“Oh fuck you, Joe, just admit it. You got bored of me and now-“

“You fuck other guys,” Joe interrupts Luz before he can say anything else about all the terrible things he thinks about him.

That stops Luz short for a moment and he blinks a few times to let Joe’s words sink in.

“So?”

“I know, I know it shouldn’t bother me, we never said we were exclusive, but…it did, it does. I’m sorry, I’m just…” Joe trails off and growls a little in frustration with himself. 

“Wait, so, you’re allowed to be with whoever you want, but you get all weird and territorial when I do it?” Luz asks, standing up now.

“Who said I was with other people?”

“Well…aren’t you?”

“No!” 

“So…wait…so you wanted us to be exclusive? You wanted to be in a relationship?”

Joe crosses his arms over his body and shrugs, but he keeps his eyes trained on Luz.

“Well, shit, Joe, what the fuck? We’re both just making ourselves miserable because you can’t say how you feel?”

“You’re the one who decided we weren’t exclusive, we never really named what this was either way.”

“It’s not my fault you didn’t tell me how you really felt, Joe. I can’t just read your mind. You shouldn’t have assumed that I wouldn’t have been willing to be exclusive, that’s so fucking stupid,” Luz exclaims, stepping into Joe’s space.

“Yeah, well _you_ assumed that I was fucking other people without asking me,” Joe counters.

“Well that’s because I’m also really fucking stupid.”

Luz doesn’t waste another second before grasping the back of Joe’s head and crashing their lips together.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a bit of a writing experiment for me that didn't quite go the way I had hoped.
> 
> Oh well, feedback is always appreciated.


End file.
